


Those Things Will Kill You

by Chiefchopstix



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Cigarettes, F/M, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26327650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiefchopstix/pseuds/Chiefchopstix
Summary: Fox Mulder was a smoker at one point. Why did he quit?
Relationships: Diana Fowley/Fox Mulder
Kudos: 2





	Those Things Will Kill You

**Author's Note:**

> First, this story is about Fox Mulder.
> 
> Secondly, I wasn't planning on writing anything with Diana Fowley in it, let alone make her a sympathetic character. It just happened this way. 
> 
> Third, I still despise Diana Fowley. She's a horrible person.

42 Hegel Place, Alexandria, VA, 1992

Mulder sits on his sofa, clouded in a haze of smoke. He chain-smokes, especially when he is viewing video evidence from a case he is assigned to. Smoking, a nasty habit he inherited from his father, which carried on through high school, then to college in England, the FBI Academy, and now his marriage.

"Those things will kill you," Diana says from the kitchen while making dinner.

"Hmm?" Mulder responds while watching the same 5 minutes of tape for the fifteenth time.

Diana walks towards him and removes the offending cigarette from his lips, "I said those things will kill you." She extinguishes the cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table.

"Smoking helps me concentrate, and it relaxes me," he replies while placing another Morley red to his lips.

"You should quit. For someone who enjoys running and playing basketball, I would think you'd take better care of your lungs," she snaps at him.

Mulder removes the unlit cigarette from his lips, and carefully returns it to the pack, "Okay. I won't smoke for the remainder of the evening."

"Thank you," she says and returns to the kitchen. 

He sneaks up behind her while she is facing the stove, and wraps his arms around her waist. He softly nuzzles her neck and whispers that he'll limit his smoking to half a pack per day. "I would like you to quit entirely," she replies.

"You knew I was a smoker the day you met me, and on the day you married me. What gives?"

"You and I were both surprised by my pregnancy. I didn't want children, and neither did you. Now that I am pregnant, and we decided to have this baby, I would like our child to grow up in a smoke free environment."

"That's a good seven months away. I can quit by then. No problem."

"I just want you to be around while our child grows up," she says as her voice quivers with tears.

He pulls here into his arms, "I will quit. Cancer won't take me away from you like it did to your father. I'll ween myself off of them. By the time Little Mulder arrives I will be an official nonsmoker. Okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise," he says as he seals his vow with a kiss.

"Thank you."

....4 months later....

She had been complaining of discomfort the entire morning at work, but dismissed it as one of the many joys of being pregnant. Mulder and Diana left work early so she could rest. She called and made an appointment to see her OB-GYN in the morning for an ultrasound on their drive back to Alexandria. Diana's doctor told her that the baby may just be lying on a nerve and that she should go home and rest, "It's a good excuse to have that husband of yours pamper you tonight."

They took the elevator to the fourth floor of their building. Mulder unlocked their door and helped her to the bedroom. Diana sat on the edge of their bed and he began to help her undress and put on her nightgown. He placed extra pillows behind her head so she could sit propped up. He left briefly to heat up some milk and returned to their bedroom. 

"Here you go. A warm mug of milk, and a glass of water."

"Thank you, Fox. Just place them on the nightstand." He did what she asked, then kicked off his shoes and removed his tie. He gently joined her on their bed and lovingly placed his hand on her pregnant belly and began rubbing her baby bump in a circular motion until she fell asleep. 

Mulder had cut back significantly on his smoking. He was now down to 5 cigarettes a day, which he mainly smoked at work. The stress of the day made his cravings stronger than usual, so he felt that the day justified a sixth cigarette. He left their apartment and headed downstairs to have a smoke. 

Upon returning to their apartment, Mulder quietly opened the bedroom door and checked on his wife. She was still asleep. He decided to finish the profile he had been working on for a case. An hour later he heard Diana scream from the bedroom. He ran towards the room and suddenly stopped in the doorway. Diana was bleeding. He dialed 9-1-1, then grabbed a towel from the bathroom. 

Mount Vernon Hospital, Alexandria, VA, 7:35pm

Mulder was sitting in the lobby of the emergency room when the doctor told him the baby didn't survive. The doctor asked if he wanted to know the sex of the child. Mulder declined, "What good would that do?" And he began to cry. 

"Your wife has been moved to her room. She's still groggy from surgery, but you can go see her now," he gently offered.

"I need some air," Mulder said as he exited the building. 

Mulder walked down the length of the hospital, along the sidewalk. He reached in the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out his pack of Morley's. As he pulled a cigarette from the pack, he noticed the warning label on the side:

"SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight."

He crushed the remaining cigarettes and discarded them in the nearest trash can, "Those things do kill."

•End•

•The X-Files were created by Chris Carter, as was the character of Diana Fowley *gag*


End file.
